Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Has Been Ruled Out Of The World Cup

It's official. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a heartbreaking injury in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday evening.

The England international's knee buckled after an attempted tackle on former Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov, and the 24-year-old was stretchered off in the 15th minute as a concerned Jurgen Klopp looked on.

There was initial fears that he would miss the tournament in Russia this summer after Klopp confirmed it was a 'really bad injury'.

But now it has been confirmed that he won't be part of Gareth Southgate's squad.

In an official statement on Liverpool's website, it revealed that Chamberlain suffered knee ligament damage on Tuesday night.

"Liverpool FC can confirm Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's 2017-18 season is over for both club and country due to a knee ligament injury sustained against AS Roma on Tuesday evening." it read.

"The midfielder was forced from the field after 18 minutes of the Reds' 5-2 victory in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Anfield after picking up the issue during an attempted challenge."

The statement went on to confirm that he will miss the World Cup as well as the remainder of the current season:

"The extent of the injury means Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to miss the remainder of the campaign for Liverpool, as well as the World Cup finals in Russia with England." it continued.

"The 24-year-old was assessed by the club's medical team at Melwood on Wednesday morning and no specific timescale is being placed upon his return to action at this stage.

"However, Oxlade-Chamberlain will now begin a rehabilitation programme to enable him to reach full fitness again as soon as possible, returning to action next season."

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said after that game. "The biggest blow for the mood is the injury of Chamberlain because we lost a fantastic player,"

"I am a very positive person and hope it only feels bad, but all the medical department are quite concerned without a scan."

It's a great shame that Chamberlain will play no part for England this summer. He has been superb for the Reds this season and would have undoubtedly featured in the starting XI.

Thoughts?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Liverpool, Football News, Football, injury

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_